donald driver : dancing with the stars, dwts, gavin degraw, teenage mutant ninja turtles, alanis morissette

Donald Driver a crowd pleaser on DWTS premiere

So that’s why Donald Driver doesn’t dance in the end zone.

He was saving his bumping and grinding for “Dancing with the Stars.”

Green Bay Packer wide receiver and Super Bowl champion Driver got the first prolonged ovation during the 14th season premiere of the show for his aggressive cha-cha with partner Peta Murgatroyd, in front of his wife and children who were in the audience.

But his score of 21 out of 30 was greeted with boos.

“Just 31 minutes into the season,” said host Tom Bergeron. “I think that's a record for starting an ugly mob.”

Sherri Shepherd, Gladys Knight and Jack Wagner all received a 23. The judges were generous scorers and no one will be eliminated until after next week’s routines. Dances take place during Monday’s episodes and elimination shows are Tuesdays.

Driver, who wore a Packer gold colored puffy blouse looked flexible, athletic and accomplished during a series spins, slides, kicks and changes in the routine, at one point dropping Murgatroyd and grabbing her as she fell. But instead of that familiar Driver smile his teeth were clenched in concentration. His high energy might have been his worst enemy.

Judge Bruno Tonioli called him “a diamond in the rough. You’re like a rooster chasing a hen. Your attitude is right but you have to refine it.” Judge Len Goodman warned he “started to lose control” during the dance. But judge Carrie Ann Inaba loved his charisma and charm. You kicked that cha cha booty.”

His toughest competition appears to be Roshon Fegan, who Inaba said looked like a Michael Jackson impersonator, hunky telenovela actor William Levy who received a 24, and classical singer Katherine Jenkins and Jaleel White, each of whom received a 26.

Source:http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/entertainment/143423346.html

Lenny Dykstra gets 3 years in Calif. Prison

Disgraced ex-New York Mets outfielder Lenny Dykstra on Monday was sentenced to three years in a California state prison after pleading no contest to grand theft auto and providing a false financial statement.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Cynthia Ulfig sentenced Dykstra after refusing to allow him to withdraw his plea and said the scam to lease high-end automobiles from dealerships by providing fraudulent information and claiming credit through a phony business showed sophistication and extensive planning.

"He obviously didn't have the money to get the vehicles," Ulfig said. "His conduct was indeed criminal."

Dykstra, 49, has had a series of recent legal troubles and the prison sentence is part of a post-career downward spiral for the stocky slugger known as "Nails" that has included a stint at a sober living facility.

In a rambling and impassioned plea for probation, Dykstra said he has tried to make amends for his past transgressions and said he would be cleared of any wrongdoing had his motion to withdraw his plea been granted.

"I'm doing everything in my power to be a better person," he said.

Dykstra, wearing a gray suit with a blue shirt, was immediately remanded to custody as he walked into the court's back room, hands in his pockets. Dykstra has earned nearly a year's worth of credit toward his sentence for time already served.

Following the hearing, defense attorney Andrew Flier said Dykstra was singled out because he's a celebrity.

"No way this wasn't a probationary case," Flier said. "To give him state prison is outrageous. I find it disgusting."

Dykstra initially pleaded not guilty to 25 counts after police arrested him and found cocaine, Ecstasy and synthetic human growth hormone at his Los Angeles home last April. He changed his plea in October to no contest and in exchange prosecutors dropped 21 counts.

Prosecutors said Dykstra and his accountant, Robert Hymers, 27, provided information at two dealerships from a man they claimed was a co-signer but who had not authorized his name to be used. The leases were not approved.

However, at another auto dealer, Dykstra, Hymers and Christopher Gavanis, 30, a friend of Dykstra's, were able to drive off with three cars by providing fraudulent information to the dealer. Hymers and Gavanis have entered no contest pleas as well and are awaiting sentencing.

"I do have remorse for some of the things I've done," he said. "But because I wasn't a perfect person am I a criminal? Everyone wants to make me out to be a monster."

Source: http://www.mercurynews.com/giants/ci_20111061/lenny-dykstra-gets-3-years-calif-prison